Janet Jackson Blames Dr. Conrad Murray for Michael's Death
Nov. 16, 2009— -- Speaking out five months after Michael Jackson's death, Janet Jackson placed blame on Dr. Conrad Murray, saying the doctor should no longer be allowed to practice medicine.
"He was the one that was administering," she told ABC's Robin Roberts. "I think he is responsible."
Michael Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, remains the focus of a manslaughter investigation into the pop star's death. Murray has admitted to administering the anesthetic propofol, but has denied giving Michael anything that should have killed him.
Jackson, who has walled herself in silence, fiercely guarding her private thoughts about the death of her beloved brother, Michael, opened up to Roberts in an exclusive interview that will air, Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 10 p.m. ET.
"It's been a tough year," she said. "You have your days where it's just really -- it's hard to believe. And a day doesn't go by that I don't think about him."
Jackson recounted the details of the morning of June 25, before she learned that Michael had collapsed, and her world turned upside down.
"I was at my house in New York. You know, another day. Another morning. And I get a call ... [my assistant] said, 'Your brother's been taken to the hospital. It's on CNN right now,'" she told Roberts. "I called everyone's. There's a line busy or -- someone wasn't picking up. I spoke to mother. I spoke to Tito. I spoke to my nephew Austin. I spoke to my sister La Toya."
Watch Robin Robert's exclusive interview with Janet Jackson, "In the Spotlight," Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 10 p.m. ET.
"I told them to call me when they got to the hospital. And I remember thinking nobody's calling me back, so I tried calling again, and that's how I found out that he was no longer ... I couldn't believe it," she said.
Jackson said the she and the entire family were in a state of disbelief.
"It just didn't ring true to me. It felt like a dream," she said. "It's still so difficult for me to believe. It's, you know, you have to accept what is. But it's hard. You have to move on with your life. You have to accept what is and I understand that."
For Jackson, Michael's memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where the late King of Pop was surrounded by love ones, helped her come to terms with her brother's death.
"My brother's favorite song is 'Smile.' And I thought Jermaine sang it beautifully, beautifully. And that's his favorite song as well. ...There being some sort of a closure, I suppose, at that time," she said, getting emotional.
